Connecticut, New York top sites with most expensive private nursing home room

Operators in two regional areas in Connecticut, as well as two areas in New York, are among those with the highest charges in the country for a private nursing home room, according to a new study from New York Life.

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT; Anchorage, AK; New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ; Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY; and Hartford, CT lead the list. The average cost for nursing home care has climbed 20%, to $95,706, over the previous year, the analysis shows.

Alaska, Connecticut and New York have long had high rates. This year, San Jose, CA; Boise, ID; and Detroit joined the list for the first time, while Seattle, San Diego and Sacramento were among the cities moving up the list. An assisted living room cost an average of $4,139 monthly.

The data come from Univita Health, which contacted more than 2,500 skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and home healthcare providers to complete over 10,000 surveys between January 2013 and December 2013.

About 60,000 elderly or disabled Medicaid recipients in Louisiana are being told they should expect to lose their benefits in July, and advocates say more than a quarter of them could be forced out of the long-term care facilities they call home.